insect (class Insecta or Hexapoda), insect diversityEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.any member of the largest class of the phylum Arthropoda, which is itself the largest of the animal phyla. Insects have segmented bodies, jointed legs, and external skeletons (exoskeletons). Insects are distinguished from other arthropods by their body, which is divided into three major regions: (1) the head, which bears the mouthparts, eyes, and a pair of antennae, (2) the three-segmented thorax, which usually has three pairs of legs (hence “Hexapoda”) in adults and usually one or two pairs of wings, and (3) the many-segmented abdomen, which contains the digestive, excretory, and reproductive organs.

European hornetS.C. Bisserot--Bruce Coleman Inc.In a popular sense, “insect” usually refers to familiar pests or disease carriers, such as bedbugs, houseflies, clothes moths, Japanese beetles, aphids, mosquitoes, fleas, horseflies, and hornets, or to conspicuous groups, such as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Many insects, however, are beneficial from a human viewpoint; they pollinate plants, produce useful substances, control pest insects, act as scavengers, and serve as food for other animals (see belowImportance). Furthermore, insects are valuable objects of study in elucidating many aspects of biology and ecology. Much of our knowledge of genetics has been gained from fruitfly experiments and of population biology from flour beetle studies. Insects are often used in investigations of hormonal action, nerve and sense organ function, and many other physiological processes. Insects are also used as environmental quality indicators to assess water quality and soil contamination and are the basis of many studies of biodiversity.

General features

Eastern tailed blue butterflyRobert P. Carr—Bruce Coleman Inc.In numbers of species and individuals and in adaptability and wide distribution, insects are perhaps the most eminently successful group of all animals. They dominate the present-day land fauna with about 1 million described species. This represents about three-fourths of all described animal species. Entomologists estimate the actual number of living insect species could be as high as 5 million to 10 million. The orders that contain the greatest numbers of species are Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps), and Diptera (true flies).

Appearance and habits

African goliath beetleAppel Color PhotographyThe majority of insects are small, usually less than 6 mm (0.2 inch) long, although the range in size is wide. Some of the feather-winged beetles and parasitic wasps are almost microscopic, while some tropical forms, such as the hercules beetles, African goliath beetles, certain Australian stick insects, and some Asian and South American moths, can be as large as 16 cm (6.3 inches).

mayflyG.E. Hyde—NHPA/EB Inc.In many species the difference in body structure between the sexes is pronounced, and knowledge of one sex may give few clues to the appearance of the other sex. In some, such as the twisted-wing insects (Strepsiptera), the female is a mere inactive bag of eggs, and the winged male is one of the most active insects known. Modes of reproduction are quite diverse, and reproductive capacity is generally high. Some insects, such as the mayflies, feed only in the immature or larval stage and go without food during an extremely short adult life. Among social insects, queen termites may live for up to 50 years, whereas some adult mayflies live less than two hours.

firefly: North American fireflyWerner W. SchulzSome insects advertise their presence to the other sex by flashing lights, and many imitate other insects in colour and form and thus avoid or minimize attack by predators that feed by day and find their prey visually, as do birds, lizards, and other insects.

Behaviour is diverse, from the almost inert parasitic forms, whose larvae lie in the nutrient bloodstreams of their hosts and feed by absorption, to dragonflies that pursue victims in the air, tiger beetles that outrun prey on land, and dytiscid beetles that outswim prey in water.

In some cases the adult insects make elaborate preparations for the young, in others the mother alone defends or feeds her young, and in still others the young are supported by complex insect societies. Some colonies of social insects, such as tropical termites and ants, may reach populations of millions of inhabitants.

Distribution and abundance

carpenter antGrace Thompson—The National Aubudon Society Collection/Photo ResearchersNo scientist familiar with insects has attempted to estimate individual numbers beyond areas of a few acres or a few square miles in extent. Figures soon become so large as to be incomprehensible. The large populations and great variety of insects are related to their small size, high rates of reproduction, and abundance of suitable food supplies. Insects abound in the tropics, both in numbers of different kinds and in numbers of individuals.

ladybugTim Davis—Stone/Getty ImagesIf the insects (including the young and adults of all forms) are counted on a square yard (0.84 square metre) of rich moist surface soil, 500 are found easily and 2,000 are not unusual in soil samples in the north temperate zone. This amounts to roughly 4 million insects on one moist acre (0.41 hectare). In such an area only an occasional butterfly, bumblebee, or large beetle, supergiants among insects, probably would be noticed. Only a few thousand species, those that attack people’s crops, herds, and products and those that carry disease, interfere with human life seriously enough to require control measures.

Insects are adapted to every land and freshwater habitat where food is available, from deserts to jungles, from glacial fields and cold mountain streams to stagnant, lowland ponds and hot springs. Many live in brackish water up to 1/10 the salinity of seawater, a few live on the surface of seawater, and some fly larvae can live in pools of crude petroleum, where they eat other insects that fall in.

Importance

Role in nature

maggotSteve Taylor—Stone/Getty ImagesInsects play many important roles in nature. They aid bacteria, fungi, and other organisms in the decomposition of organic matter and in soil formation. The decay of carrion, for example, brought about mainly by bacteria, is accelerated by the maggots of flesh flies and blowflies. The activities of these larvae, which distribute and consume bacteria, are followed by those of moths and beetles, which break down hair and feathers. Insects and flowers have evolved together. Many plants depend on insects for pollination. Some insects are predators of others.

Commercial significance

Certain insects provide sources of commercially important products such as honey, silk, wax, dyes, or pigments, all of which can be of direct benefit to man. Because they feed on many types of organic matter, insects can cause considerable agricultural damage. Insect pests devour crops of food or timber, either in the field or in storage, and convey infective microorganisms to crops, farm animals, and human beings. The technology for combatting such pests constitutes the applied sciences of agricultural and forest entomology, stored product entomology, medical and veterinary entomology, and urban entomology.

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